Downtown San Diego

[houkah]

I'm going to San Diego in August for a work conference. I'll be staying at the gas lamp district and spending most of my days at the convention center. I was wondering if anybody had recommendations in those areas? As far as price, i don't mind spending money on good food, but can't really eat $50 lunches & $100 dinners everyday. I've tried looking in the forums but most of the recommendations seem pretty far from downtown. Also I won't have a car, but don't mind walking or taking public transportation like the trolley. Any help would be greatly appreciated as i absolutely hate convention center food.

I'm particularly looking for a good korean bbq and tofu place, good seafood, and good mexican/latin american food.

[kalypso]

As far as price, i don't mind spending money on good food, but can't really eat $50 lunches & $100 dinners everyday.  I've tried looking in the forums but most of the recommendations seem pretty far from downtown.  Also I won't have a car, but don't mind walking or taking public transportation like the trolley.  Any help would be greatly appreciated as i absolutely hate convention center food.

I'm particularly looking for a good korean bbq and tofu place, good seafood, and good mexican/latin american food.

←

Try the pinned topic above, quite a few of the recommendations are actually downtown.

I think you can probably avoid the $50 lunch and $100 dinner, but you need to understand one thing going in...The Gaslamp and the area around the Convention Center are prime tourist territory and the prices will often reflect that but not always the quality of the products.

You will have good access all over the downtown area via the trolley system. It's easy to use and not terribly expensive. The orange line stops right in front of the convention center and you can take it 2 or 3 stops north to the America Plaza stop and transfer to the blue line. That will take you to the Gaslamp and Little Italy.

So, here goes with a list of likely suspects, many have links to their web pages in the pinned SD topic above

In Little Italy - on India

Pete's Meats - hole in the wall, decent meat sandwiches, cheap, don't blink you could walk by it.

Mona Lisa - good sandwiches

Assanti - good everything

Fillipi's - 60+ years in business in SD, meatball subs are good, red-checked American/Italian food.

Buon Appetito - pretty good Italian, sort of upscale

Vincents - good Italian, dinner

Shakespear Pub

In Little Italy - on Kettner

Bud's Lousiana Food Shoppe - very good. Owner used to have a resto in New Orleans

Waterfront - former dive bar with pretty good burgers, crummy fries

Fringe of Little Italy - 1st and State

Pappalecco - new gelateria, owners have 3 shops in Pisa. They also do paninis and light salads

Downtown

Cafe 222 - breakfast and lunch place, outstanding

Cafe Chloe

Chive

Candelas - continental Mexican

Stingaree - see and be seen, under 40 crowd

Confidential - see above

Dussini's - see above

Tin Fish - literally just across the street and trolley tracks from the convention center

Molly's - upscale and in the Marina Marriott BUT this is not your basic hotel resto. Extremely good food, great wine pairings and they are really into supporting the sustainable agriculture movement and serve a lot of products considered sustainable.

Fish Market (upstairs) - in Seaport Village

JSix - 6th and Island, also doing the sustainable thing.

Napa Grille - top floor of Horton Plaza

Panda Inn - see above

Salad Styles - lunch only, salads

Basic Urban Bar

The Field - tons of micro brew on tap, Irish breakfast

Oceanaire Seafood Room - great happy hour, you can walk there form the convention center

Red Pearl

Croce's

Chopra - Afghani

Grant Grill - very upscale

Westgate Hotel - very upscale, $$$, dinner only

San Diego Reader click on the link to restaurants, then on the link for Downtown/Gaslamp . You can read all the reviews for the places in this area. Tin Fork reviews are for hole in the wall, inexpensive options; this guy is really right on with his reviews. Naomi Wise does the more mainstream and upscale places.

SignOnSanDiego This is the site operated by the SD Union/Tribune, find the link to restaurants in the left hand column and you can search by type of cuisine or neighborhood; Downtown and The Gaslamp are searchable options.

Not aware of any Korean BBQ in the downtown area, nor is there any particularly good Mexican. Candelas is pretty upscale Mexican, usually gets good reviews, you can definitley eat there for less than $100 including beverages. Oceanaire Seafood is good for seafood, stick to the straightforward presentations. They also have a very good oyster bar. Happy hour is frequented by the lawyer/executive, be and be seen, power networking crowd.

Have fun and let us know where you finally ate.

Edited June 14, 2007 by kalypso (log)

[houkah]

java script:emoticon(':blink:')

smilie

Wow! Thanks for all the recommendations. I'll def. be back with my take on SD and the food. Thanks again.

As far as price, i don't mind spending money on good food, but can't really eat $50 lunches & $100 dinners everyday.  I've tried looking in the forums but most of the recommendations seem pretty far from downtown.  Also I won't have a car, but don't mind walking or taking public transportation like the trolley.  Any help would be greatly appreciated as i absolutely hate convention center food.

I'm particularly looking for a good korean bbq and tofu place, good seafood, and good mexican/latin american food.

←

Try the pinned topic above, quite a few of the recommendations are actually downtown.

I think you can probably avoid the $50 lunch and $100 dinner, but you need to understand one thing going in...The Gaslamp and the area around the Convention Center are prime tourist territory and the prices will often reflect that but not always the quality of the products.

You will have good access all over the downtown area via the trolley system. It's easy to use and not terribly expensive. The orange line stops right in front of the convention center and you can take it 2 or 3 stops north to the America Plaza stop and transfer to the blue line. That will take you to the Gaslamp and Little Italy.

So, here goes with a list of likely suspects, many have links to their web pages in the pinned SD topic above

In Little Italy - on India

Pete's Meats - hole in the wall, decent meat sandwiches, cheap, don't blink you could walk by it.

Mona Lisa - good sandwiches

Assanti - good everything

Fillipi's - 60+ years in business in SD, meatball subs are good, red-checked American/Italian food.

Buon Appetito - pretty good Italian, sort of upscale

Vincents - good Italian, dinner

Shakespear Pub

In Little Italy - on Kettner

Bud's Lousiana Food Shoppe - very good. Owner used to have a resto in New Orleans

Waterfront - former dive bar with pretty good burgers, crummy fries

Fringe of Little Italy - 1st and State

Pappalecco - new gelateria, owners have 3 shops in Pisa. They also do paninis and light salads

Downtown

Cafe 222 - breakfast and lunch place, outstanding

Cafe Chloe

Chive

Candelas - continental Mexican

Stingaree - see and be seen, under 40 crowd

Confidential - see above

Dussini's - see above

Tin Fish - literally just across the street and trolley tracks from the convention center

Molly's - upscale and in the Marina Marriott BUT this is not your basic hotel resto. Extremely good food, great wine pairings and they are really into supporting the sustainable agriculture movement and serve a lot of products considered sustainable.

Fish Market (upstairs) - in Seaport Village

JSix - 6th and Island, also doing the sustainable thing.

Napa Grille - top floor of Horton Plaza

Panda Inn - see above

Salad Styles - lunch only, salads

Basic Urban Bar

The Field - tons of micro brew on tap, Irish breakfast

Oceanaire Seafood Room - great happy hour, you can walk there form the convention center

Red Pearl

Croce's

Chopra - Afghani

Grant Grill - very upscale

Westgate Hotel - very upscale, $$$, dinner only

San Diego Reader click on the link to restaurants, then on the link for Downtown/Gaslamp . You can read all the reviews for the places in this area. Tin Fork reviews are for hole in the wall, inexpensive options; this guy is really right on with his reviews. Naomi Wise does the more mainstream and upscale places.

SignOnSanDiego This is the site operated by the SD Union/Tribune, find the link to restaurants in the left hand column and you can search by type of cuisine or neighborhood; Downtown and The Gaslamp are searchable options.

Not aware of any Korean BBQ in the downtown area, nor is there any particularly good Mexican. Candelas is pretty upscale Mexican, usually gets good reviews, you can definitley eat there for less than $100 including beverages. Oceanaire Seafood is good for seafood, stick to the straightforward presentations. They also have a very good oyster bar. Happy hour is frequented by the lawyer/executive, be and be seen, power networking crowd.

Have fun and let us know where you finally ate.

←

[Kouign Aman]

You might also try this website.

SanDiego.eats.it

At the Fish Market, I prefer downstairs to the Top of the Market. Its a personal preference. Downstairs is cheaper.

There's a food court in Horton Plaza, and Napa Valley Grille is at the top of the plaza and is pleasant.

[Swicks]

Very comprehensive list by Kalypso, you could eat at any of those and be very happy.

A few personal favorites not mentioned:

Osteria Panevino for italian

The Grape-nice little wine bar with some good apps

The Cheese Shop - great breakfast and sandwiches

A definate second for Oceanaire, Chive, and Tin Fish

Gas Lamp Strip club - cool vibe, cook your own steaks

Taka - great japaneese

Flemings or Lou and Mickey' sfor Steak

Bandar for persian

Rama for upscale Thai

Masala for upscale Indian

[mizducky]

You might also try this website.

SanDiego.eats.it

←

Thanks for the plug!

Yep, kalypso has done a great job of covering the waterfront, so to speak. I think I can only add the following:

If you're willing to take a relatively short taxi ride to Barrio Logan/Logan Heights, due east of Downtown and East Village, you can find some decent Mexican eats--as the "barrio" indicates, you'll be traveling into the 'hood. I haven't done a lot of exploring over there yet, but so far I dig El Siete Mares (specialists in seafood, as the name indicates).

To get Korean barbeque, I'm afraid you're going to have to take a longer taxi ride, up to Kearny Mesa--maybe you can stage a food escape with some of your fellow conference attendees. I don't have much personal experience with this cuisine, but I believe our buddy Kirk (mmm-yoso here on this board and on his excellent blog) likes Buga, just west of the I-805 on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. There's also a huge nexus of Asian restaurants of a variety of cuisines just a couple miles east of there, lining Convoy St. from about Clairemont Mesa Blvd. south. Check Kirk's blog for lots more details.

And one of my favorite little downtown food finds: when you've had it with the Convention Center, just slip out the back way and start walking towards the water, and eventually you'll come to the Embarcadero South Fishing Pier, where you'll find JJ's Sunset Deli, a little open-air sandwich stand that makes a damn nice ribeye sandwich.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Okay - one last plug... All the main-stream food places have been covered but if you have a sweet tooth, Extraordinary Desserts has two locations - both relatively close to downtown.

I have eaten desserts in notable pastry shops from the Mexican border to the Canadian border and Karen Krasne's confections are some of the best in the state.

[houkah]

Okay - one last plug... All the main-stream food places have been covered but if you have a sweet tooth, Extraordinary Desserts has two locations - both relatively close to downtown.

I have eaten desserts in notable pastry shops from the Mexican border to the Canadian border and Karen Krasne's confections are some of the best in the state.

←

Thanks for all the information everyone. I think i have enough places to fill several trips to San Diego now. Carolyn, i def. have a sweet tooth and will be checking out this pastry shop.

[houkah]

Well i just got back from San Diego last night. The weather was incredible and i'm somewhat sad to be back in sweltering 90s temperatures w/ humidity .

As far as food I didn't get to eat out for dinner as much as I would have liked as there were tons of conference parties w/ free food. Places I did eat however....

Cafe 222 - The breakfast here was awesome. I got the 2 + 2 + 2 with waffles and the waffles were absolutely fantastic. Very very friendly staff also.

J6 - I was staying at the Hotel Solamar, so i ate breakfast here almost every morning. Really liked the sourdough toast and the scrambled eggs here. I also ate dinner one night and had the lobster salad and the lamb. I really liked the lobster salad's dressing which had a bit of sweetness and saltiness. The lamb was a bit of a disappointment, as I was hoping it would be a bit more rare. It didn't have that silky texture that i tend to like from my meats. The lamb came on a bed of vegetables, an assortment of beans mostly. I believe there were a handful of pine nuts in there as well. The vegetables could have definitely used more pine nuts or something starchy to go along with it. So essentially i enjoyed the breakfast here far more than the dinner. I should say however that the wait staff was fantastic at j6. Very friendly.

Chive - I got the mussels with diced celery, tomato, and horseradish and the kobe beef. The mussels were very good, with just the barest hint of spicyness. The diced celery and tomato was very good also. The kobe beef was also very good. It comes raw with a hot stone that you cook it on and an assortment of dipping peppers, oils, and sauces. This was probably the best dinner i had. I ate at the bar, and the bartender was very friendly and chatty. Telling me good local bars to go to in San Diego. The only thing is the incredibly small portions at this place. I could have probably eaten another meal.

Freds Mexican Cafe - at the insistence of friends who wanted margaritas. Pretty standard Mexican/tex-mex food. Good Margarita.

Kansas City BBQ - Again at the insistence of friends. This place was horrible. I've had better ribs at a chain restaurant.

Forget the name... some brazilian restaurant in Horton plaza. Decent... i'm wary of all you can eat buffets though. The beef cooked in garlic was probably the best meat here. I tried to get my friends to eat at Napa grill but i think they were put off by the price .

JWs Irish Pub - Inside the hyatt. Standard restaurant bar/restaurant. Good burgers, but the cobb salad was very average.

I believe that's just about all the places I tried. I should say a friend of mine and I tried to eat at some Australian place called Bondi. We sat at the outside bar and waited for quite a long time. When a waitress finally walked by and we tried to get her attention she rudely said 'gimme a minute.' We waited another few minutes, got fed up and left.

So that's about it. I'm really jealous of the weather you guys have out there in San Diego. The city itself... it's interesting i guess... wasn't really for me. However, i chalk it all up to the location i was at (gaslamp). It seemed like the tourist/party area. Thanks again for everyones recommendations.

Okay - one last plug... All the main-stream food places have been covered but if you have a sweet tooth, Extraordinary Desserts has two locations - both relatively close to downtown.

I have eaten desserts in notable pastry shops from the Mexican border to the Canadian border and Karen Krasne's confections are some of the best in the state.

←

Thanks for all the information everyone. I think i have enough places to fill several trips to San Diego now. Carolyn, i def. have a sweet tooth and will be checking out this pastry shop.

←

[houkah]

Almost forgot. I also ate at tin fish for lunch. I thought the fries were better than the fish (i got the standard fish and chips). However, i'm always happy when i can buy a 32 oz beer :-D.

Well i just got back from San Diego last night.  The weather was incredible and i'm somewhat sad to be back in sweltering 90s temperatures w/ humidity .

As far as food I didn't get to eat out for dinner as much as I would have liked as there were tons of conference parties w/ free food.  Places I did eat however....

Cafe 222 - The breakfast here was awesome.  I got the 2 + 2 + 2 with waffles and the waffles were absolutely fantastic.  Very very friendly staff also.

J6 - I was staying at the Hotel Solamar, so i ate breakfast here almost every morning.  Really liked the sourdough toast and the scrambled eggs here.  I also ate dinner one night and had the lobster salad and the lamb.  I really liked the lobster salad's dressing which had a bit of sweetness and saltiness.  The lamb was a bit of a disappointment, as I was hoping it would be a bit more rare.  It didn't have that silky texture that i tend to like from my meats.  The lamb came on a bed of vegetables, an assortment of beans mostly.  I believe there were a handful of pine nuts in there as well.  The vegetables could have definitely used more pine nuts or something starchy to go along with it.  So essentially i enjoyed the breakfast here far more than the dinner.  I should say however that the wait staff was fantastic at j6.  Very friendly.

Chive - I got the mussels with diced celery, tomato, and horseradish and the kobe beef.  The mussels were very good, with just the barest hint of spicyness.  The diced celery and tomato was very good also.  The kobe beef was also very good.  It comes raw with a hot stone that you cook it on and an assortment of dipping peppers, oils, and sauces.  This was probably the best dinner i had.  I ate at the bar, and the bartender was very friendly and chatty.  Telling me good local bars to go to in San Diego.  The only thing is the incredibly small portions at this place.  I could have probably eaten another meal.

Freds Mexican Cafe - at the insistence of friends who wanted margaritas.  Pretty standard Mexican/tex-mex food.  Good Margarita.

Kansas City BBQ - Again at the insistence of friends.  This place was horrible.  I've had better ribs at a chain restaurant.

Forget the name... some brazilian restaurant in Horton plaza.  Decent... i'm wary of all you can eat buffets though.  The beef cooked in garlic was probably the best meat here.  I tried to get my friends to eat at Napa grill but i think they were put off by the price .

JWs Irish Pub - Inside the hyatt.  Standard restaurant bar/restaurant.  Good burgers, but the cobb salad was very average.

I believe that's just about all the places I tried.  I should say a friend of mine and I tried to eat at some Australian place called Bondi.  We sat at the outside bar and waited for quite a long time.  When a waitress finally walked by and we tried to get her attention she rudely said 'gimme a minute.'  We waited another few minutes, got fed up and left.

So that's about it.  I'm really jealous of the weather you guys have out there in San Diego.  The city itself... it's interesting i guess... wasn't really for me.  However, i chalk it all up to the location i was at (gaslamp).  It seemed like the tourist/party area.  Thanks again for everyones recommendations.

Okay - one last plug... All the main-stream food places have been covered but if you have a sweet tooth, Extraordinary Desserts has two locations - both relatively close to downtown.

I have eaten desserts in notable pastry shops from the Mexican border to the Canadian border and Karen Krasne's confections are some of the best in the state.

←

Thanks for all the information everyone. I think i have enough places to fill several trips to San Diego now. Carolyn, i def. have a sweet tooth and will be checking out this pastry shop.

←

←

[dharold]

Sounds like you were at the same convention as me!

Here's where we went:

Filippi's Pizza Grotto - we hit this one on the off chance when we saw a bunch of people going in. The restaurant has an Italian deli out front - you walk through to get to the dark restaurant where wine bottles hang from the ceiling. We split a pepperoni and sausage pizza - thick crust, lots of cheese, not too oily. We ate two slices each and took two home. Good stuff.

Dublin Square and Cafe Zucchero - we ate breakfast at each of these. Both served frankly awful food, though the coffee at Zucchero was good. An oily fry up at one, a breakfast burrito style dish literally swimming in liquid at the other. Enough said.

Cafe Chloe for breakfast. Savoury custard was basically quiche without the pastry - an idea so good I'm going to rip if off at home. Gravlax was served with in a light tower of crepe with separate layers of egg white and yolk. Brunch: tartiflette-reblochon, a brie, bacon, and potato tart followed by 'eggs piperade with procuitto and potatoes'. The tart was fun, like something you might knock up yourself for brunch. Very tasty and not trying too hard. The piperade was the classic onion, pepper and tomato base served with a fried egg on top. Impressive. I wish I'd had time to try lunch or dinner there.

I ordered a fish taco at The Tin Fish because that's what everyone else was doing. In fact I changed my order from an oyster po'boy to do so. "Shame," said the guy taking orders, "once you've had the fish taco, you'll be back for more, but you'll never taste that po'boy." He's probably right.

I have no idea who Karen Krasne might be but she's not lying when she promises Extraordinary Desserts. We hit the Union St outpost at a little after 4.00pm and found it all but empty, save for probably 10 waiflike waitresses who didn't look like they'd ever eaten cake in their lives. A mix of rasberry and white chocolate mouse ('White Chocolate Berry Coupe') was, and I use this phrase for the first time, "to die for."

Located in what might very possibly be The Most Boring Neighbourhood in America, Bertrand at Mister A's is perched on top of a 12 story financial building that affords impressive views of San Diego. The food was a little less accomplished than the view but very good - I think if I'd chosen a little better then perhaps I might have gotten a better appreciation for Chef Stephane Voitzwinkler’s obvious skills.

Formerly the fine dining room at Georges at the Cove, an all-new "upscale contemporary restaurant" is declaring it's intentions with the name: Georges California Modern. I had Chorizo Crusted White Seabass with roasted peppers, shelling beans, cherry tomatoes, parsley puree for a main course. It looked odd - a huge bass with a few studs of chorizo on top. Big deal - it tasted fabulous.

At 1500 Ocean 'Snake River farms Kurobuta pork loin rib chop' was very impressive indeed - I scraped the bone to get every scrap. Service was top of the class.

At first I was unsure what we were going to get at Tapenade. At reception the noise was almost unbearable but overall this was probably the most impressive food of our trip to San Diego and straight on to my personal favourites. Just get seated away from the audio system!

We also had breakfast a couple of days at Cafe 222 - the corned beef hash was great there and the tamales good too.

[chefsteban]

This was a small part of Kalypsos list:

In Little Italy - on Kettner

Bud's Lousiana Food Shoppe - very good. Owner used to have a resto in New Orleans

Waterfront - former dive bar with pretty good burgers, crummy fries.

OMG Kalypso say it ain't so.....Waterfront...former dive bar? I haven't been there in a long time, and now I am not sure I ever want to go again

Ya gotta blame it on people like the Coens..and their plastic trendy food joints.....I am bummed.

[kalypso]

With the advent of all the redevelopment in downtown and Little Italy finding respectability The Waterfront was discovered by the weekday suits and foodie crowd. It's still a little run down, but not quite as divey as it used to be. For a burger most people are still going to head over to either Hodad's in OB or Rocky's in PB

Edited August 12, 2007 by kalypso (log)

[chefsteban]

With the advent of all the redevelopment in downtown and Little Italy finding respectability The Waterfront was discovered by the weekday suits and foodie crowd. It's still a little run down, but not quite as divey as it used to be.  For a burger most people are still going to head over to either Hodad's in OB or Rocky's in PB

←

I never understood the attraction of Hodads burgers..yes they are big, but way too messy and so much goop that you can't get the flavor of the beef.....Now Rocky's...there is a hamburger you can

sink your teeth into, altho their fries leave something to be desired.

There is a great hole-in-the wall on University @ 36th street called Canada Burger. Juicy burgers full of flavor and great fries too. The rest of Canadas menu is just as good. Its across the street from a strip joint, but don't let that put you off.

[kalypso]

There is a great hole-in-the wall on University @ 36th street called Canada Burger. Juicy burgers full of flavor and great fries too. The rest of Canadas menu is just as good. Its across the street from a strip joint, but don't let that put you off.

←

36th & Uni? That's basically across the street from Super Cocina and Fruitilandia. I'v e never looker further than that, because frankly, in that part of town I'm more apt to be jonesying for Mexican than a burger.

Have you tried the Western Steak Burger (their on El Cajon Blvd. somewhere, I've forgotten the cross street) or Tioli's Crazy Burger on 30th just a block south of El Cajon?

[Swicks]

←

[chefsteban]

There is a great hole-in-the wall on University @ 36th street called Canada Burger. Juicy burgers full of flavor and great fries too. The rest of Canadas menu is just as good. Its across the street from a strip joint, but don't let that put you off.

←

36th & Uni? That's basically across the street from Super Cocina and Fruitilandia. I'v e never looker further than that, because frankly, in that part of town I'm more apt to be jonesying for Mexican than a burger.

Have you tried the Western Steak Burger (their on El Cajon Blvd. somewhere, I've forgotten the cross street) or Tioli's Crazy Burger on 30th just a block south of El Cajon?

←

Super Cocina!! what a great place...love their menudo. Next door to the super cocina is a great place for carnitas callled La Michocanensa.or something like that. Crispy pork with freah corn tortillas and fiery salsa. You can buy the carnitas by the kilo for takeout with all the fixings.......

Never heard of Western Burger, but I did try Tiolis once. It was pricey and on the dry side. The Carls Jr. up the street could give Tiolis serious competition.

Burgers and Mexican........my two favorite food groups.

Edited August 18, 2007 by chefsteban (log)

[kalypso]

Super  Cocina!!  what a great place...love their menudo. Next door to the super cocina is a great place for carnitas callled La Michocanensa.or something like that. Crispy pork with freah corn tortillas and fiery salsa. You can buy the carnitas by the kilo for takeout with all the fixings.......

Never heard of Western Burger, but I did try Tiolis once. It was pricey and on the dry side. The Carls Jr. up the street could give Tiolis serious competition.

Burgers and Mexican........my two favorite food groups.

←

Thank you, thank you, thank you. The place in between SC and Fruitilandia (which, btw, is worth a visit) is , IIRC, La Moreliana and I've been asking around about it for the last few months. I'm glad to hear it's good. Have you tried Carnitas Uruapan in Lemon Grove? It may, or may not, be owned by the people that own Carnitas Uruapan in Tijuana. The Lemon Grove branch is really, really good. How does the place next to Super Cocina stack up?

Pork - and really good carnitas - is one of my major downfalls

No...REALLY...it is

Edited August 18, 2007 by kalypso (log)

[chefsteban]

Super  Cocina!!  what a great place...love their menudo. Next door to the super cocina is a great place for carnitas callled La Michocanensa.or something like that. Crispy pork with freah corn tortillas and fiery salsa. You can buy the carnitas by the kilo for takeout with all the fixings.......

Never heard of Western Burger, but I did try Tiolis once. It was pricey and on the dry side. The Carls Jr. up the street could give Tiolis serious competition.

Burgers and Mexican........my two favorite food groups.

←

Thank you, thank you, thank you. The place in between SC and Fruitilandia (which, btw, is worth a visit) is , IIRC, La Moreliana and I've been asking around about it for the last few months. I'm glad to hear it's good. Have you tried Carnitas Uruapan in Lemon Grove? It may, or may not, be owned by the people that own Carnitas Uruapan in Tijuana. The Lemon Grove branch is really, really good. How does the place next to Super Cocina stack up?

Pork - and really good carnitas - is one of my major downfalls

No...REALLY...it is

←

Im with you on the carnitas being a major downfall.....I love the stuff.

I really can't compare SCs food with Morelianas, as I only go there for the carnitas.....It would be hard to top Super Cocina.

I've heard that both Uruapans are owned by the same family...I've never been to the Lemon Grove one, I just love the TJ place......the more mariachis the better......a loud party atmosphere

brings out the best in a carnitas meal.

Today looks like a good day for a carnitas lunch...

[dannyboy]

Hey folks,

I've read through gobs of posts here, as well as various food blogs by San Diegans. My head is spinning as a result. Hopefully, my posting the questions will be a better bet...

4 of us will be arriving Thursday morning and wish to eat lunch before a trip to Cabrillo National Monument and Coronado Island. I live in South Philly, where 30% of our population hails from Puebla, Veracruz, and other points of Mexico. I'd love to sample San Diego Mexican, but not if it's something I can get at home. Any quintessential Mexican places in the vicinity of where I'll be going? We do not wish to eat like tourists, but would like comfortable surroundings, i.e., no taco trucks.

That night, around 12 of us, with varying tastes, would like a semi upscale business dinner downtown. I was thinking Nobu at the Hard Rock, but I am way open to suggestions, especially those on the basis of "you can only get this here".

There is the strong possibility of Friday lunch recs needed as well. On Friday, our group will be scaled down quite significantly. There is also the possibility of a bit of travel out of the downtown area on Friday, as far north as La Jolla...same culinary basis; quintessential Mexican or San Diegan.

Thanks in advance.

[Swicks]

Hey folks,

I've read through gobs of posts here, as well as various food blogs by San Diegans. My head is spinning as a result. Hopefully, my posting the questions will be a better bet...

4 of us will be arriving Thursday morning and wish to eat lunch before a trip to Cabrillo National Monument and Coronado Island. I live in South Philly, where 30% of our population hails from Puebla, Veracruz, and other points of Mexico. I'd love to sample San Diego Mexican, but not if it's something I can get at home. Any quintessential Mexican places in the vicinity of where I'll be going?  We do not wish to eat like tourists, but would like comfortable surroundings, i.e., no taco trucks.

That night, around 12 of us, with varying tastes, would like a semi upscale business dinner downtown. I was thinking Nobu at the Hard Rock, but I am way open to suggestions, especially those on the basis of "you can only get this here".

There is the strong possibility of Friday lunch recs needed as well. On Friday, our group will be scaled down quite significantly. There is also the possibility of a bit of travel out of the downtown area on Friday, as far north as La Jolla...same culinary basis; quintessential Mexican or San Diegan.

Thanks in advance.

←

I lived down in San Diego for 7 years while in college and just post college but it has been a few years since, so the current Mexican spots are not my specialty. I would recommend the Tin Fish as a nice lunch spot downtown. Additionally, Alhambres in the gaslamp area is pretty good.

Business dinner...I have not been but I have heard Nobu is excellent. There are your standard steakhouse choices, Flemings, Ruth Chris, etc, but I am sure that is probably not desirable. Some other choices you might consider are:

Oceanaire - Steakhouse type atmosphere but with seafood. Very good.

Blue Point - Good seafood place.

Candelas - High end mexican, great atmosphere

Chive - small plates, modern american, great place.

Monsoon - High end Indian, excellent

Rama- High end Thai, excellent

Panevino - Italian

Fish Market/Top of the Market - a well renowned place

Outside of the downtown area...La Jolla has a lot of good choices. Market located just a bit further north in Del Mar is a new place that has garnered a lot of attention recently.

Hopefully this gets you started. also check out www.signonsd.com

[syrah girl]

Miguel's Cocina in Coronado has great Mexican food in a festive ambiance, we dined on their outside patio area which was nice. They really great Mexican Creme Brulee served with Warm Churros here which was a special treat.

[kalypso]

Hey folks,

4 of us will be arriving Thursday morning and wish to eat lunch before a trip to Cabrillo National Monument and Coronado Island. I live in South Philly, where 30% of our population hails from Puebla, Veracruz, and other points of Mexico. I'd love to sample San Diego Mexican, but not if it's something I can get at home. Any quintessential Mexican places in the vicinity of where I'll be going?  We do not wish to eat like tourists, but would like comfortable surroundings, i.e., no taco trucks.

That night, around 12 of us, with varying tastes, would like a semi upscale business dinner downtown. I was thinking Nobu at the Hard Rock, but I am way open to suggestions, especially those on the basis of "you can only get this here".

There is the strong possibility of Friday lunch recs needed as well. On Friday, our group will be scaled down quite significantly. There is also the possibility of a bit of travel out of the downtown area on Friday, as far north as La Jolla...same culinary basis; quintessential Mexican or San Diegan.

Thanks in advance.

←

San Diego Mexican is rather hit or miss and surprisingly not really very good for being so close to Mexico. The primary migration came from Jalisco, Sonora and Sinoloa, which is quite different than what you may be used to. San Diego has a taco shop mentality and the carne asada burrito is pretty quintessential to the city. There is a taco shop on Rosecrans Blvd. in Point Loma on the way to the Cabrillo Monument called Santana's that serves a pretty decent CAB. Mind you this is taco shop fare, cheap and not very fancy. The CAB is sort of San Diego's signature burrito, it's nothing but a tortilla, carne asada and quacamole.

I'll second the recommendation for Tin Fish. The best Mexican food in the city is not close to where you're going to be and would require going into areas that might make a non-local a little uncomfortable.

The other quintessential food to San Diego is uni, what is harvested off the SD coast is world class.

[dannyboy]

Thank you all. This is exactly the info I was looking for. Maybe we can score some local uni at Tin Fish? We'll see. Thanks again.

[dannyboy]

←

The best Mexican food in the city is not close to where you're going to be and would require going into areas that might make a non-local a little uncomfortable.

←

So, just in case we don't mind discomfort, what is this place you speak of?